Earlier this spring our pastor approached Bart about being ordained before we leave for Papua New Guinea. While ordination is not a requirement for being a tribal church planter, Bart felt that it would be a beneficial thing for him to go through. So, the studying began!!! In reality, he had been studying for this his whole life.
The first step of the process was organizing a council of other ordained men to question and examine Bart to be sure he was fit for the Gospel ministry. Besides questioning him on doctrinal issues, they also talked to people in our church and neighborhood to evaluate his character. That ordination council took place in July and after about 2 1/2 hours of questions, the men determined that Bart was qualified to be ordained.
Our church planned an ordination service at the end of August and many of the men who were on the ordination council were able to attend. In addition to the pastors from two of our supporting churches, a special treat was that Greg and Dawn Sanford came from Jersey Shore 
so Greg could give the charge to Bart. Greg was one of our main instructors during our first year of New Tribes training in central PA.
So, Bart is now officially an ordained minister of the Gospel! You don’t have to call him Reverend Allen, though. He’s still the same old Bart!